What do you do if you find that you are stuck, dissatisfied with your career and life, or simply unable to move forward? Today, I want to introduce you to the what I have termed the personal gap analysis.
In business analysis, you perform a gap analysis to understand the difference between where your organization (or processes) is now and where you want to be. Essentially, you have to first understand your current state (or the “as-is”), your desired future state (or the “to-be”) and then find what is missing. It is a great business or process improvement technique.
But may I suggest that you try that out as an individual?
Let me give you an example.
A few years ago, I analyzed my “current state” and realized that I was very dissatisfied with my life on several counts, for instance:
– I loved learning and wanted higher degrees yet had somehow paused all my educational dreams partly because I found my bachelors degree to be unenjoyable and perhaps more because I was busy trying to make my company work.
– I loved travelling the world but was stuck because… let’s just say it isn’t fun to have to apply for visas every time you want to travel, while meeting a million conditions, just because of your passport.
– From a career perspective, I wasn’t sure of where I stood…
As soon as I identified my current and desired future states, I began to identify the gaps and what I could do to get them plugged.
– I could actually learn new skills!
– I could go back to school (even if that meant taking a post-graduate diploma at the country’s open university so as to get back in the game since it had been quite a while).
– I could change the nature and direction of my company.
– I could do whatever needed to be done!
And then, I began to work at it. I started with simple steps and gradually began to amplify them.
One thing I’ve observed is that nothing moves until you are ready to move. You would be surprised at how things come together when you are ready for the change. The best part is that since you have the journey mapped out, you can tell where you are in your journey to the target state. And the thing about a gap analysis is that you can also give yourself a realistic timeline to plug the gaps. You don’t need to put yourself under unnecessary pressure and can work step by step, item by item.
And if you don’t? Well, let’s just say that 5 years from now, or 10, or 50, you would still have the same regrets and still keep wondering why life has been so unfair.
Perform a personal gap analysis today. It helps!
Photo by Alex Radelich on Unsplash
